Budapest

No visit to Hungary would be complete without at least a short visit to the capital city- Budapest.

Budapest straddles the River Danube in a breathtaking setting, unparalleled elsewhere in Europe. On the right bank the Buda Hills reach almost to the riverside and offer a splendid panorama. Pest, on the left bank and connected to Buda by a series of impressive bridges, with its predominant mixture of late 19C Eclectic and early 20C Art Nouveau architecture, is still very much a "turn-of-the-century" city.

The history of Budapest (current population 1.9 million) officially begins with the year 1873 and the unification of the formerly separate townships of Buda, Óbuda and Pest. The following four decades saw vast reconstruction, particularly on the Pest side of the river, which has basically determinded the central cityscape to this day. However, parts of today's Budapest have been inhabited for centuries, the history of which can be traced back to pre-Roman, Celtic times.

History set aside, Budapest, which is twinned with New York, is undoubtedly Hungary's visual, architectural, cultural and culinary highlight!